(written by me)
It all started in the late 70's with a few young guys from Sheffield ,England.Rick Savage, a 17 years old bass player , Joe Elliott, an 18 year old who tried everything from drums to guitar but ended up singing, and a 17 years old guitarist named Pete Willis.
All driven by the influence of artists like Queen, Led Zeppelin, T-rex and David Bowie, they started playing in clubs in Sheffield.Within a year, they added Steve Clark as a second guitar player, and 15 year old Rick Allen as the drummer.
In 1978, they released their first E.P, which was a success, and they signed with the AC/DC manager- who arranged a deal with "mercury" record company.
Their next release was "On through the night", their first full-length album, in 1980.This album was also big, and brought invitations to tour with other heavy metal artists (like Ozzy).
In 1981, the album "High & Dry" was released, and became Def Leppard's first platinum album in the USA.
While recording the next album "Pyromania", Pete Willis was fired from the band for alcoholism and was replaced by guitarist Phil Collen.
The album "Pyromania" became a huge hit in 1983,and sold 10 million copies, making Def Leppard one of the most popular bands in the world.
But in 1984, a car accident caused Rick Allen the loss of his left arm, and nobody knew what the future of this band would be .
But Rick Allen learned to play on a special electric drum-kit, and after a long time of practicing and recording ,they finally released the album "Hysteria" in 1987.
It took a little time, but "Hysteria" became a massive blockbuster, selling even more than "Pyromania", becoming one of the biggest come-backs in music history.
But after another big success came another big tragedy when guitarist Steve Clark was found dead in 1991, from the fatal mix of drugs and alcohol.
Continuing as four, Def Leppard went on with their next album ,Which was already half- done.
In 1992, this album "Adrenalize" came out and was once again a big come-back.
That same year, guitarist Vivian Campbell was added to replace Steve, and they made in 1993 "Retro Active", which is an album made of new and old songs. It wasn't quite a success like the other albums.
Two years later,in 1995, they made a greatest hits album called "Vault",which of course sold many copies.
In 1996, a new album called "Slang" came out, it took a completely different direction and was very popular by the reviews and those who knew about it.
Right now as you are reading this ,a new album is being made by Def Leppard,and is HOPEFULLY going to be released in the spring.
And that's it, for now...
